I hate when people think ocd is being organised

And yet you see all these influencers throwing “anxiety” “ocd” around like they are just moods 😒

You can tell that woman is such a good mother. She is understanding of her child and tries to help her with her mental illness without being condescending or judgemental. They seem like a lovely little family.

the fact that her mom is supportive is amazing, it makes it so much harder when your parents get mad at you for your compulsions.

I'm So Glad Her Mom Doesn't Lose Her Temper On Her, And She Understands What She’s Going Through.

She's a very mature, eloquent girl for her age. I hope she achieves everything she desires.

She's only 14? She is very mature (in the best way possible of course) her tone, the way she speaks. She is beautiful, I wish you all the best Allison! As someone who has just started to get diagnosed you make feel better. Edit: Now she is 16

I struggle with intrusive thoughts, I can tell u its just hell. wish i could just split my head open or bang my head against something. thank god I found an amazing therapist

OCD is not an adjective. i hate hearing people say "im so OCD about x" like no you're just a perfectionist

I dated a girl with severe OCD, when I was in my teens. It's heartbreaking. There's no other way to put it. I remember trying to help her get out of the shower after hours of her cleaning herself over and over again, freezing because the hot water ran out hours ago. Thank you vice, thank you for allowing people to understand a little bit better this terrible affliction

OCD is not a mood. It's not just wanting everything straight or your Skittles sorted by color. It can look like those things, but the difference is there's an intense anxiety behind it that can make just living so much harder for the sufferer than the average person. Fun fact: people with OCD need more sleep than the average person. It's like running a marathon all day long but in your mind. This girl is tough to be able to go through it like that and come out stronger on the other side.

My mom once said "I wish you were one of those clean freak OCD people." Personally, my OCD has a lot to do with touching things, and obsession. I will have to walk in a certain place multiple times, or touch something a certain amount of times until it feels "right", and I also have a problem with whenever other people do things, it feels wrong to me. Living every day of my life is like torture. With the obsession piece of my mental illness, I constantly have intrusive thoughts I spend hours on end thinking about. They include violence towards myself or others, questioning my interests and hobbies even when I'm positive I like what I like, and unwanted sexual thoughts. To anyone out there struggling, I love you and hope things get better 💖

Imagine feeling like everything has to be perfect, in a world where perfect doesn't exist. What a strong person.

I’m a teacher with OCD and oh my god I would NEVER rip up a student’s paper! That’s disgusting!

Is it just me or do my fellow people with OCD feel anxious when hearing about other people's obsessions and compulsions?

I was diagnosed with OCD since my teenage, spent my whole life fighting OCD. I suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Not until a friend recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean. Never thought I would be saying this about mushrooms.

her mother is amazing. the fact she knows what she is talking about and takes the time to sit down and help her daughter cope with OCD is purely beautiful. not many parents take the time to understand their children instead judge them the way society do.

I have OCD and many people tell me that I’m so “lucky” to have it. I’m not lucky that my brain keep telling me to fix and clean everything or wash my hands so often that it bleed. OCD is not a funny quirk or an useful tools, its an illness that causes alot of harm.

As someone who has pretty bad OCD, it's extremely debilitating. As she said, it can take you a long time to actually do something because every time you do it you have to do it again because it doesn't feel 'right' and if it's not right then your brain is saying stuff like 'If you don't do it right your family members going to die' or this is gonna happen or that's gonna happen. It's truly exhausting. This is why it's so annoying when all these people are like "Oh I'm so OCD" like the mother said or whatever. They truly don't understand just how exhausting and annoying it is. Thank you for this video Vice, thank you for giving us a voice. Thank you for sharing our frustrations. I hope Allison finds things that make it easier for her in the future, because sometimes the compulsions do get better. She's got a wonderful mum supporting her. ❤

I’m 16 and I’m dealing with severe ocd too.. it’s so draining.. I literally relate to this so much I obsessively stress about my thoughts and feelings for hours and hours.. And it’s so hard seeing family living normal lives.. like I just want that too :(

for her sake, i hope she never starts doing winged eyeliner

i absolutely hate when people are like “omg my room is never messy im so ocd about it hagdhagahhsha” like no becky, you just like to be neat.

As someone who struggles with OCD in my daily life, I feel for this poor girl. I don't have it as bad as this young lady, but it's something that is incredibly intrusive and hurts me to think that it's something that I could live without but just can't.

(Tw idk?) The worst is when ur ocd says “what if i dont actually have ocd?” And then u obsess over whether u actually have ocd or not even tho by doing that it literally proves that u do-

“Sometimes it’s really secretive.” As someone with OCD, damn that really hits home.

Glad her mom takes her seriously and understands, not many parents will try to understand or help.

It's fantastic to see Allison already so advanced in her recovery journey. My OCD only really became abundant in my twenties, although I now understand teenage events a lot better now. There's no "cure" for OCD. The recovery requires a lot of education, really facing your fears, exposing yourself to the world, and realising that true self-compassion is the ultimate goal.

i have ocd, it's really amazing how watching this was like looking into a mirror for me. it makes me so happy to see people saying that this made them understand the disorder better.

she's so mature for 14. battling your own brain every day will do that to you. lots of love

She seems very reflected for her age. She has a bright future ahead of her, no matter what.

This really hits home. I failed almost all of my classes my freshman year at university because of OCD. I couldn’t write on paper, no matter how perfectly I formatted my notes and homework, it didn’t feel right. OCD affects all areas of my life in different ways. It absolutely haunted me for the greater portion of my life. I am grateful to say that I have now successfully filled 2 notebooks completely without throwing them away. It’s a constant battle, but it does get better.

I love that she was able to be diagnosed so early. It shows that she has a very attentive mom and good doctors. As a person with OCD to just about the same extent, i appreciate that. OCD is like your brain torturing itself, and she's fighting it like a champ!

The O in OCD means obsessive.... you can become obsessive over anything with OCD. It is NOT about cleaning and organizing. I dont have OCD nearly to the extent of this beautiful child but I do have one thing where I constantly think my doors are not locked/shut. I will close and reclose my front door 5 times before I believe it's closed and locked. Theres no rhyme or reason to it but my brain just doesn't shut off until I repeat this process. I hate it. Edit : thanks for sharing your stories! And I didn't say that you can't have OCD about cleaning. I mean that the typical personal believes OCD is only for cleaning and thats not true. Becoming obsessed with cleaning is definitely something that happens. In other words, not everyone who cleans a lot is OCD, and not everyone with OCD is obsessed with cleaning.

OCD IS NOT AN ADJECTIVE I love that. I really hate hearing people claiming OCD for the littlest things.

This kid is far more mature than many adults in some ways. I wish them the best

Damn! This girl is inspiring! I didn’t get diagnosed until 2020. I had just had my daughter (a month before the lockdowns) and postpartum triggered full-blown OCD. I’ve always struggled with it for as far back as I remember, but I was never diagnosed and just thought I was “weird.” Im so proud of her for making a difference and being an advocate. Go get ‘em girl!!!

She said anxiety is secretive and its so true 😞. Its all in our heads . I hate leaving my house everyday but i do it anyways . Exposure is hard .

This girl is so freaking smart and in touch with her disorder. I had severe anxiety all my life into my early adult years that wouldn't allow me to do almost anything the other people my age were doing socially. It was hard to go to school, work or just to the store. I would pretend I was sick. Hide in a bathroom and cry. Not be able to speak. Self harm. Hyperventilate. Sweat profusely and think everyone noticed everything that was going on with me. I am just recently learning about the exposure method and compulsions. I don't have OCD but I can definitely relate to this. I still have anxiety to an extent but keep working on it, it gets better!!

I’m 25 and just got diagnosed with OCD and I’m beginning treatment and you’re helping me, Allison. Thank you so much 💙

I am very thankful you shared your story. I canNOT imagine the amount of complete exhaustion this mental health illness causes you, Allison. As the significant other of a man who has been diagnosed with PTSD and has permanent Psychosis from illegal drug use, I have an understanding of the importance of family support- I applaud your mother and admire her strength. I do have a couple of thoughts. As I listened to your mom and she was saying that people say that they have OCD over something minor. You know, honestly I would "toss" that term around when I did something that I was trying to explain away to other people who thought I was putting more effort into a task that I didn't need to. Or if I spent more time fixing something, rearranging something and people would tell me it wasn't worth it. I'm not saying it is the right term to use, but folks say things when they feel inadequate or "silly" for doing things and others and they are afraid others will judge them for it. We all have strengths, we all have weaknesses. If you continue to educate others about OCD traits, it could change the way people reference it. Now that I understand more about PTSD and Psychotic tendencies, I never say things like, "Don't be so sad, you should be happy" or "Just think happy thoughts", or during a psychotic break I understand why I must keep a certain tone in my voice in order to help calm my boyfriend down or to just be in the room so that he knows he's not alone. I am saying all this to make the point that a person never knows what will happen in life at any given point. The biggest thing we can do to help one another is go through hardships with them. Learn as much as you can about the situation and put yourself through every emotion, every heartbreak, every nightmare with them. Also, realize that the cross you bear may be lighter than another's or heavier than another. But we all will go through trials in this lifetime. Be kind; don't be offended if someone uses a phrase in a hurtful way, more than likely they are uneducated about the proper usage. And if you hear them, and you can- tell them about it and why it's not the correct term to use. Not only does this show your person that they are supported but it makes the "good" days so much more beautiful for BOTH of you. The other thing that I was curious about was during the part of the video when you, Allison's mother, was saying that she would ask you so many times if you loved her, was this the fear in her mind from thinking she wasn't "normal" and she needed reassurance or do you think it was the Obsessive trait of OCD? Also, do you think it would have helped and could it help today, if you told allison you love her as soon as you see her? For example, every morning when you both wake up. First words- "Good morning, I hope you slept well; it makes me h as happy to see you, I love you so much." I am asking from a place of curiosity. Mental health has become such an amazing part of my journey and my boyfriend's journey. I strive to learn and share as much as I can. God bless you, each and every one.

I hate it when people joke about OCD and consider is as “nothing.”

Remember, OCD is NOT perfectionism. That's just how some ocd manifests but it can spiral out in many different ways.

Bless this mama and her patience and huge support to this girl who is SO informed about her condition! I have OCD and struggle a lot but when I started watching more videos it made me feel less like I was crazy and more like it's something that I can get better with over time. Thank you to this family for the willingness to share their story...hearing it made me feel less alone and also very inspired by her determination!

As someone who does have OCD and takes a ton of medication and goes through a ton of daily life routines with OCD this documentery really hits home and i am proud and amazed at how far she has come

I now understand why people get annoyed when others use "OCD" so passingly to signify detail-oriented or clean or whatever. OCD affects people's lives in a way I never realized... Allison you are so strong!! Thanks for sharing your story

Hey💙, my OCD as a teenager was like yours. Compulsions all day, everyday, rewriting, rereading, counting, and all sorts of rituals all day. My OCD took 8-12 hours of my day at its peak. At 17 I did CBT on myself, for many months, I got a dog, which was a great stress reliver, I started mediation daily while doing the CBT during the time as well. For months I failed, the first, second and third time, but eventually I began to get better. I was 90% OCD free by mid 18, I'm now 26 and OCD lingers maybe once every three months and I just take a deep breath, resist the urge and it goes away eventually again. Severe OCD as I once had it is now in the past. There's hope, keep strong, so one day you can look back at your OCD past how I am now. Xo

This brings a lot of memories from my teenage years, before I started treating OCD. It's so, so painful.

I’m near tears watching this. Thank you so so much for sharing. Hearing from you and reading the other comments I feel so seen and understood. For years I’ve struggled in silence because I don’t present like what people think of when they think OCD. My house is a mess, my clothes aren’t perfectly ironed but behind closed doors I wash and wash and wash my hands until they’re so ripped up they bleed then wash some more because there is now blood on my hands. And getting up hundreds of times through the day and night to check the door is locked, the the trash is put away from where my dog might get into it, that all the doors are fully closed, the list goes on. This video and comments have shown me I’m not the only one who’s been absolutely suffering in complete silence for so long. The bravery it took for this young lady to share this is immense and I appreciate it more than I can say. I hope everyone struggling with ocd has been ok during the pandemic, I know it has made my day to day much harder with the repeat actions surrounding cleanliness of hands, clothes, and heightened anxiety and intrusive thoughts and I myself have lost many hours to it. You are not alone 🖤 I hope we can all find relief.

I'm literally sitting here crying... Someone understands.

I love how patient her mother is, it must be horrible being a child with a parent that isn’t understanding of mental illness like her teacher she had.

Intrusive thoughts are so overlooked when it comes to people understanding ocd

I've never seen OCD described in a way that I could actually understand it before. As a child, I had some compulsions like what she is describing, and understanding that taken to a really disruptive degree really helps me to imagine what people go through. Thank you for sharing and educating.

My OCD is severe. I dislike when people say “omg I am so clean, I have ocd” it’s not like that, it’s life changing. Literally.

As a long term OCD sufferer, my heart breaks for this Girl. The strength she shows is awesome, but no kid deserves this, no kid should have to bear the obsessions that this disorder brings.

Allison is so beyond her years. She is doing so well and I am so proud of her. I struggle with Generalized anxiety disorder and clinical Depression. As someone who struggles with mental illness as well, this was super inspiring to watch and I understand what it is to be invalidated and made fun of for your illness. I dream of advocating for mental health and becoming a therapist in counseling. Lots of love, Bethany :)

OCD is one of those all encompassing conditions that, without treatment, will slowly take over your entire life. I knew of an extremely severe case once where a young man had to quite lite live in the bathroom in his mother’s house. His anxiety, compulsive behaviors, and intrusive thoughts were so severe he couldn’t function outside of this tiny little room. The good news is, OCD is one of the few psychological conditions that actually has decently high success rates with treatment.

I'm in college and we were learning about ocd in my psych class. I was excited to learn more about it bc I have it pretty badly. But through the entire class, the guy behind me was laughing so hard at everything the teacher was saying. I had to play it off in class but I cried all the way home. People of all ages are so inconsiderate of others feelings and its so sad😔

“The Allison disease”? Wow kids are sooo cruel😔Her mom is very supportive. God bless.❤️

For someone living with OCD, I so wish I had someone in my life growing up that I could share my thoughts and compulsions with. Someone as understanding and supportive as this mom. I grew up not knowing what it was and just accepted that I was different, and so I lived with it secretly until I educated myself in my late teen years. Thank you for this video VICE.

it makes me so so happy to see that such a young girl has support and is working through this stuff herself! the skills shes working on and the self compassion she has is gonna make her so much better off in this world

Todays teenagers are under so much pressure, we need to show a great understanding for the youth with this and other disorders More power to her Thank you.

as a person who does not have ocd, this documentary has really educated me and made me understand it so much more. thank you Edit: thank you for the likes, it’s so great to know that other people did not know much about OCD before this, and learnt lots after watching it! 🤗

first off she’s so freakin beautiful! & second the amount of courage this had to take & the amount of strength she has battling her own mind everyday... I’m in awe!

A huge round of applause to Allison and her mother because if parents want they can help their child to gain strength and determination that they can be like whatever they want to become

she is so intelligent. an old soul for sure. i'm wishing her luck.

She is a very mature girl for her age

I'm really thankful for this video. I've been thinking for a while I might have OCD and this really helped. That thing with the photos happened to me a few years ago and I never knew it could be OCD!!! I've been thinking about it because my rereading has got so bad I can't do normal things and it's so tiring. It's really empowering to see how you expose yourself and how your mom helps. I find it very scary to try but I will, I need it. Also the reassuring thing happens to me a lot too! I'm thinking about finding a new therapist and it's just so scary to go into all this but at the same time I really feel like I need to do it and it will help. Thank you so much Allison!! My compulsions are also usually mental so it helped a lot, in general, to hear from you and your experience. You seem very strong and I can't thank you enough! Lots of love, stay safe!!

When she showed in the beginning the hair thing, it brought me back. I’ve done that sooo many times. Once I was going to a wedding and didn’t like the hairdo so I re did it so many times I missed the church service and part of the wedding and when I got there I had a panic attack where I lost consciousness and was rushed home where I woke up with Oxygen because I couldn’t breathe. Another time I suffered a bad fall broke my arm and couldn’t use it for two weeks, I had my husband do my hair and when he didn’t do it well it brought me to tears I couldn’t handle it. Of course that’s not everyday but the fact that it got to those extremes and the many other things like erasing things and writing again until they’re perfect, moving things constantly because I feel everything is crooked, having to re check things a million times, it really makes my life miserable at times.

I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this as a teenager. My OCD did not start bad until last year when I was 30. To go through school with OCD must be exhausting. It’s such a life changing illness

I have Bipolar II and OCD, and for me personally, OCD has been what has driven me to be suicidal for most of my adolescent and adult life. It’s debilitating. It’s excruciating. And I wish more people understood how minimizing it is and how much harder it makes it for people with OCD to talk about an already silent illness when everybody walks around making jokes and saying “I’m so ocd” like it makes you quirky. I owe my life to the professionals who have helped me get to a manageable place, having both OCD and Bipolar. I will end on a happy note and say that the affirming and earnestly sympathetic comments are truly heartening, and I am so immensely proud of this strong, smart, brave young lady and her considerate mother. Seeing her face her compulsions and her mother supporting her made my heart swell. Thank you, Vice, for this video and the one about living with Bipolar Disorder.

the fact that she is accepting and acknowledging that she wants to change is all she needs and I appreciate her for that

i also have OCD and the way she described it is super relatable i have more mental compulsions too instead of visible ones so it kind of hurts when people dismiss my feelings bc it eats me up alive😭

Glad to see a wholesome youtube comment section for once. She deserves it!

These are disabilities teachers need to learn about while in college.

Normally I wouldn’t comment stuff like this but dang, I am so proud of her to see the way that she is putting in the work to try to combat this issue that she will likely always face. Keep up the great work💌

I cry my eyes out to this video sometimes I feel so alienated and isolated I really don't think anybody understands my OCD or how I feel in my head but the whole hair band in hair tying and tightness thing and the having to get reassurance over repeated phrase time and time again I have suffered with my entire life I just turned 28 yesterday I don't think I will ever not suffer from my OCD but it is nice to see that there is communities out there

I suffered from OCD my whole life. I used to pull my hair out. Thanks to CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) I have gotten much better. I still have to make myself not do things over and over.

i'm 14 and was recently diagnosed with ocd. thank you for sharing, allison.

as someone with ocd i got so teary eyed from this because i felt exactly what was being put out. i feel extremely recognised by this and wish people truly understood how hard it is sometimes

It’s comforting knowing that people go through this too,and it’s not just me

She’s done a very good job of explaining her experience with ocd

the “allison disease?” come on people are so ignorant 🙄.

i have ocd, and people have always told me, ‘oh you’re so quiet’, ‘oh you’re so mature for your age’, and always just thought i was really intelligent because i have to do things in a certain manner.

I find this really comforting. This is very reflective of my OCD and the childhood I had because of it.

Her mum smiling and nodding her head at the camera and looking back at her daughter is so lovely to see, she is clearly soo proud of her daughter 🥺❤️

yet people say, “oh my god i am like so ocd right now!” they’re idiots.

I love how involved and passionate her mother is in her treatment and progress. That's the magic right there. Support your kids!

So beautiful to see her mum working hard to help and understand as much as possible.

It has always made me roll my eyes when people say “oh I have ocd” or “I’m so ocd” when they really don’t have shit and are just dealing with normal anxiety... THIS is ocd.. not something you say you are to be cute..

It hurts, because you want to say "no!" But you can't because the constant worry or image is in the back of your head if you don't complete the compulsion and you are stuck for what can be hours on end, what started as a relief through an action is now a cage that many are trapped in, I wish the best for her and everyone battling their own demons :)

omg im crying. finally someone understands me.

I feel for you so much! I’m 53 and I’ve suffered my whole life. It went from when I was younger just the way you are exactly pretty much and then when I got to be in my 20s, it went to the intrusive thoughts! People don’t realize how debilitating it could be.I wish you luck, honey

I am so glad that she got diagnosed so early on, makes it so much easier when you know what you're facing, and that it isn't you. I dint realise how bad a case of OCD I had till I stumbled across an article about Pure OCD. Allison, girl, you will be the strongest willed person you will know with a very strong sense of self and that will help you defeat it. It maybe never leaves you but it becomes compartmentalized to an extent that it's not a nuisance or an interference anymore. All the love for you Allison, you will overcome.

I don't have ocd but it really bothers me when people say that ocd is just being organizing or having books straight on a shelf and then saying "omg I have ocd!" it really makes me mad.

She's so brave, mature and so so strong! I've learned a lot more about OCD watching this.

Allison is such an amazing person, i truly respect her

I hate when people at my school organise there coloured pencils and are like *"i hAvE sEvErE oCd"*

Thank you for this Vice. My boyfriend struggle from OCD and he’s contemplated suicide and has struggled from depression. It really is a silent killer because I didn’t even know he had it until after 1 1/2 years of dating. He’s got such a good poker face and it kills me. I hope more people talk about this and take steps to get help.

I was crying the whole time watching this, I wasn't aware of other things like erasing and not able to write words when they are dictated, spend my whole life thinking I'm so dumb that I can't write what other ppl dictates. I can feel her while watching, the stress, the anxiety and even the headaches when you're unable to satisfy yourself from doing something like her ponytailing her hair. I'm glad to see that her mother doing her best to make her daughter well. Somehow it's less stressful when someone understands and helps you.